Comical Trauma response

Please discuss and compare the comical elements in Devils on the Doorstep and The Marriage of Young Blacky. According to the readings, how did the 2000 film approach trauma in a comical way? And how did the 1943 story presenting the comical amidst ongoing historical trauma? What do these two visual and textual examples tell us about its director JIANG Wen and writer ZHAO Shuli as unique popular cultural phenomena in their respective times? Use quotes with page numbers from the two readings to support your response. Due Wednesday February 26 by 10 pm; comments to two other responses due the same day by 11:59 pm. I look forward to your responses!

Popular Romance Then and Now response

Please read "The Confidence in the Game" with the extreme popularity of Guo Jingming and Amy Cheung (Zhang Xiaoxian) in mind. Although this short story and Guo's popular novels (and Cheung's popular "lover's talk") are nearly 90 years apart, there is much to be said about the connection between popular romances then and now. 

Please choose a short quote from "The Confidence in the Game" (include page numbers), and analyze its significance in contributing to the story's popularity in 1920s' Shanghai. 

From what you've learned reading the first chapter of Guo Jingming's Tiny Times 2 and his many interviews, and visiting the Amy Cheung websites, what elements from the 1920s' story might still be prominent in today's popular romances? Due Wednesday Feb. 19 by 10 pm, comments to two other responses due by 11:59 pm the same day. I look forward to reading your responses! 

Painted Skin response

Cover of a Painted Skin illustrated booklet based on PU Songling's story, photo credit: www.mtime.com

 

A film still from Painted Skin II (2012), photo credit: www.mtime.com

After careful reading of the short story "Painted Skin" collected in PU Songling's Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, what strike you as the most ingenious changes in later adaptations (1993, 2008, 2012)? What are the elements in the original story that you find most capable of "making it popular" in contemporary times? Support your answer to both questions with quotes and page numbers (whenever possible) from the story and the two film reviews (The Illuminated Lantern Review on the 1993 film and the China Beat Review on the 2008 film). Feel free to raise your own question and discuss things interest you most. Due Wednesday February 12 by 8 pm, comments to two other responses due Wednesday by 10 pm. I look forward to reading your responses!